Of Idiots and Friendship
by MoonlightMystery13.3
Summary: Benny's a geek, and worse, he's proud of it. He's been given a lot of grief for it over the years, and even Tom used to make fun of him for it. Is it really such a surprise, then, that he has trouble believing that Tom's friendship is genuine? Luckily, though, the only good thing to come from almost killing the Nekross is some reassurance. :) Not slash, just an awesome friendship.


A/N: Greetings, everyone! Just here to toss a little one shot at you, some of my beloved brotherly bonding. :)

Episode: The Fall of the Nekross

Warnings: None! :)

Inspiration: The scene in the Benny's lab after Tom goes after him- the bro feels! ^^

Remember, reviews are like cookies! *insert cookie-hungry cat here* 

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All Benny's life, people had ridiculed and taken advantage of his for his intelligence, for his love of knowledge. The football players, lots of Tom's former friends, had been the worst offenders, and Tom himself used to do the same. So, Benny can't really be held responsible if it's difficult to believe that Tom legitimately wants to be his friend, and it's not just an elaborate prank. Some days, he still wakes up wondering if the whole thing is real, and even as he and Tom fight aliens together, he's still not certain their friendship goes both ways. When the war ends, would Tom drop him without a second thought? Does he only keep him around because he's smart, or for a laugh? They'd been through so much together, and still, Benny had his doubts.

"No, idiot."

Normally when people called him an idiot, they said it to hurt. It was the opposite of what they meant, which was that he was too smart to ever really fit in with them. A truly inaccurate insult. Benny never really cared. Sure, it hurt, but he wasn't going to stop being who he was, just to be accepted by a mediocre group of students. He little experience with the easy, well-meaning banter that flew between him and Tom. They threw insults at each other, constantly, and didn't mean any of them. And even if Tom had meant it, Benny would have had to agree. He'd make a mistake, a disastrous mistake, that was slowly slaughtering their enemies. He _was_ an idiot, and much worse.

"I'm not going to help them..."

Of course, again, Benny was an idiot. He couldn't ask Tom to help him clean up a mess he had made, that Tom hadn't been at any fault in. He couldn't ask his friend to help the creatures that wanted him dead. That would mean going against everything Tom believed in, against his family, against everything that made him a wizard. It was wizards versus aliens, a wizard couldn't help the aliens. It would be beyond selfish to ask Tom to even consider it, it would make Benny a terrible friend, and yet, it was what Benny'd thought Tom had been offering to do, for a moment. That just made Benny not only an idiot, but an unobservant one.

"I'm going to help _you_."

Benny just stared, for a moment, uncomprehending. Then he _grinned_. He'd been right, after all. He wasn't an idiot! He might be selfish and a bad friend, and all the rest, but he'd interpreted Tom's intentions correctly. A sense of wonder stole over the scientist. Benny's whole life, he'd never had a real friend, no one who befriended him not for the benefits that he brought, but because of him, because of who he was. And whenever he'd needed something, those "friends" would mysteriously disappear. But here was Tom, popular and a _wizard_ , for heaven's sake, and Benny's friend. His actual friend, risking and giving up so much for Benny, not because of what Benny could do for him, but because Tom wanted to.

Benny had been mocked and taken advantage of his whole life. It wasn't really a surprise that it took him so long to realize that the friendship he had with Tom was real, not one sided, not exploitative. But there, in a tiny shed, crowded with hopelessness and regret, Benny finally understands, and he _believes._

 _/fin/_

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A/N: *calmly dies from overdose of bro*

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it.

 **Be the reason someone smiles today! :)**


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